Chelsea vs Manchester United Analysis & Betting Expert Predictions

Chelsea vs Manchester United Analysis & Betting Expert Predictions

The article was last updated on 29th of March, 2019.

At one point this season, several Chelsea fans though that they were serious contenders for the title, but now not so much. After a much-needed change in management with Maurizio Sarri, they flourished, much to everyone's surprise.

They did really well for themselves during the first half of the season, winning their first 12 games in a row, but taking their past few fixtures into consideration, there has been a noticeable drop in performance.

It seems as though they have reached their limit under the Italian head coach. While they have a fighting chance at potentially winning the Europa League, their Premier League future looks rather bleak.

 

Ole Gunnar Solskjær

Ole Gunnar Solskjær was the best thing that happened to the Red Devils all season. After Jose Mourinho's departure, the team immediately picked up their pace, and their form improved dramatically. After winning a bunch of games in a row before losing against the Wolverhampton Wanderers and subsequent getting knocked out of the FA Cup.

Overall, they went from being mid-table mediocrity to a serious contender for one of the top 4 spots. They now have a fighting chance at making it to the Champions League next season.

While it's true that both of the clubs aren't title contenders.

There's no denying that a clash between the two will be incredibly interesting.

This April, Manchester United and Chelsea will face off for the second time this Premier League season, both the teams seem pretty much evenly matched in quality, so what are the likely outcomes?

Head To Head And Form

Since past encounters are a good measure of future performance, let's take into consideration their last Premier League encounter. It took place on Stamford Bridge, in October 2018.

At the time, Chelsea had proven to be one of the strongest clubs in the Premier League. The players had adapted very well to “Sarriball”, and in terms of points, they were up there with Manchester City. Additionally, they had lost only one of their last 17 home games.

Manchester United on the other hand, unfortunately, didn't have the same fortune. With 13 points, they were 8th on the league table. Jose Mourinho was acting out, and there were tensions between him and midfielder Paul Pogba.

Fortunately for them, spirits were high, as they have just won a game against Newcastle. Their 3-2 win was just what they needed before they headed over to Stamford Bridge. The odds seemed to have favored Chelsea. It had been 6 whole years since United won a match in The Blues’ home stadium, and Chelsea was in peak performance.

The game, however, ended up being a lot less one-sided and way more exciting than everyone initially assumed. Chelsea dominated the first half of the game. Antonio Rudiger, with great assistance from Willian, found the net with a clean header only twenty-one minutes into the match and put Chelsea in the lead. Apart from the one goal and a few yellow cards, it was a largely uneventful first half.

It was during the second half that things got interesting. After a few missed chances on Chelsea's part, United made a great comeback almost an hour into the match.

Chelsea got sloppy, and Anthony Martial made use of this slip-up and scored and just when things were looking good for the Blues, the score was all evened up.

After this, Ross Barkley was brought on to replace Mateo Kovacic. This would later go on to be a smart tactical decision. With less than 20 minutes, Anthony Martial did it again.

The ball whizzed past Kepa and put Manchester United ahead. At this point, everyone thought that the Red Devils had it in the bag.

They match was drawing to a close and Chelsea seemed like they were struggling to catch up. After a series of substitutions, the final whistle was blown, and Chelsea was down by a goal. With a few minutes of stoppage time remaining, United fans were already celebrating.

Well, this match goes to show just how unpredictable football is. Six minutes after the ninety-minute mark, midfielder Ross Barkley managed to save the day for Chelsea fans all around the world. Seemingly out of nowhere, he managed to score a last-minute.

Manchester United's number 1 David de Gea tried, but unfortunately, he could not make the save. The match ended in a tie, and points were distributed equally between the two.

The Next Game

Despite the relatively happy conclusion, Mourinho did have one of his outbursts after the culmination of the match.

Barkley's last-minute goal resulted in Marco Ianni to run past United's head coach in celebration, which leads to a tussle off the pitch. This reminds us of the top 10 players under Sir Alex’s Manchester United.

Coming back to the present, it seems as though there has been a distinct role reversal between the two. Manchester United dramatically have dramatically improved since Mourinho’s departure, and Chelsea seems to be struggling under Sarri.

If their recent FA cup encounter holds any validity, it as though Manchester United have it in the bag.